The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1887-03-24
LURD FLAMES.
The Rishmsnd Hotel Of Buffalo BuEzsA
70 the Ground.
Together With st. James Hall aad
Adjacent Buildings.
The Inmates. Frantic With Fear. leap
From the WindsWS
To Be Picked Up Mspglsd and Bleed.
Ing TO Death
Through Binding smoke Rush NAdly
In ell Directions.
A BoR.ie Dlsasss-.

corner OF MAIN ana 68SIS BGkoo6o Wts4
totally destroyed by fire early this
and other adjacent property. The most
distreSsful part Of the disaster is the
loss Of several human lives. At this
writing no q. M it Is imnoSsible TO
say just how many persons are killed
and injured. but the number Is large.
The great rapidity of the fire in
cutting on the means OF escape led
doWs. Others got down the fire es-
eapes or on ladders raised by fremen.
The shrieks and cries Of poor people in
the upper stories of the burning struc-
ture were heartrending. One man,
mad with terror. leaped from third
story window and was picked up from
the stone sidewalk on Main street
q mangled and bleeding corpse. Sew
eral who succeeded in making their
escape were badly injured and burned,
and some of these will probably die.
Others more fortunate escaped with
slight injuries. Many of the wounded
were taken to the hospitals. Among
these were F. H. Bryant, New York
travelling man, burned about the feet
and hands, and Hon. NJ. w. Barse of
Clean, terribly burned about the hands
proprietor Of the hotel, with his wife,
| had rooms on the second floor, and
had narrow escape. Terror nvercame
everybody, and even those who escaped
| in safety were, in many cases, pIoStra-
| ted by their awful experiences. At 8
O'Clock the estimate of loss Of life was
stated to be twelve, but this is in a
measure mere guess work. There were
| 125 persons in the hotel, seventy-fiVe of
whom were transient guests, eight
boarders, and the remainder porterS,
bell boys, families OF prOprietors and
clerks. Twenty-Five Of these were res
cued from windows by firemen. TWEEN
ty-tWo are at the hospit-
ais and a large number
made their escape by other means. The
origin of the fire Is not yet known.
William B. Airport, night clerk, says:
THE fire started in cloak room under
the main stairway at sos O'Clock.
There was nobody up but myself, Joe,
the night porter, and Plummer, the
bell boy. I pulled all four of
the fire alarms on different
floors and people came flying
down stairs in their night clothes. The
fire followed the elevator and inside of
five minutes it reached the top floor. /
rushed out of doors after doing all I
could" The bell boy, Plummer, said:
81 was busting the reading room when
heard shout and saw
flames coming up the stairway
from the basement. Mr.. Airport and /
turned on the hose under the main
stairway. We Strengthened the house
out and turned the valve but the water
would not run. Then we gave the
alarm. The Waterman and got q
plank and broke in the Eagle street en-
trance to the hotel. Then we got q
plank under the fire escape on Eagle
street and helped people. think there
were about eighty-four guests in the
house."
TERROR STRICKEN OCCUPANTS.
The spread of the flames is said to
have been frightful in its rapidity.
The elevator shat tServed as a f1ue and
they rushed to the top floor in q very
few minutes. AS the guests were
reused and saw the interior exits cut
OF, they turned to the windows. They
could be seen in their night clothes,
standing out clear and vivid before the
lurid background of flames. Their
screams were horrible to hear and they
could be heard for blocks. The flames
spread to the southeast side of the
hotel. At first the firemen did noble
work and confined the fire to the mar
row limits of the three buildings
named. The work of rescue had many
exciting incidents. Telegraph wires
were as usual in the way Of the ladder
brigade, and much valuable time was
lost in getting ladders past them.
Among the guests at the hotel were
about twenty insurance agents, who
had come to adjust the losses
of the great fire at Miller,
Greiner & Co.'s and the Courier
Office on Tuesday. Perhaps the most
thrilling escape of any was that OF Pres
colt Whitaker, StepSOn of Proprietor
Stafford. He roomed in the fifth story
and when aroused, stepped to a window
and looked down for few seconds and
then he deliberately dressed himself
and emerging from window, stood on
| the stone Gaping above the window.
Beneath from this Gaping, he stepped
to the next one along the front Of the
| tuilding and proceeded in this manner
bremity of the front. The nerve and
GOODNESS displayed were remarkable.
William H. Airport the night
clerk states that he was sitting
in the Office at $40 O'Clock
when he saw a reflection on the floor.
Turning around he discovered q blaze
in the room directly under g the stairway y
darted up the elevator shaft with tire
mendous force, and in an incredibly
short space of time the interior of the
hotel was filed with smoke and flames.
Then terrible scenes began. The sec
ond and third alarms brought the en-
tire fire department to the scene, but il
was impossible to save any portion OF
the roof in less than five
; minutes from the time it was
discovered and it soon reached and
Quilted st. James hall, occupied a.
Brunell's museum, and the Tivoi hal
adjoining and fronting on Washington
} street. The fire, which was under con
troll by o'clock, was confined to thu
l nd
ty. together with the saloon Of James
/ Creighton and the cigar stor'
J of j. G. Palacio on MaiK
street. The Main street side stores
of the Richmond hotel were occupied
by Uibrish & Kingsley, book seller
( and stationers; Peter Paul s. Bros, il
3 the same line of business, and Fulle
5 s. Townsend, proprietors of the Boston
clothing store. The stock in theSl
: stores was totally destroyed, entailinl
s heavy losses. William J. Mann, ON
:. of the proprietoTs of the house, and hi
4 wife. had thrilling experience in get
ting out. Mrs. Mann was terribl
: burned about the head, arms and legz
, and their little daughter, Jennie, wa
= also badly burned.
d DOMEsTIcs NARROW ESCAPE.
n Five girls VINO r0Omed on the lift
) door made q rope out Of beclothes an
/. hung it out OF the window, but none G
70 them seemed to have the courage {
n start. At last one swung down to th
r. window ledge, from which she was re-
Is cued. Three others came down In til
se same manner and then the fifth gi
le started. She had gone but . little dii
z lance when the rope parted and dow
It she went, four stories; but, strange
n say, she was not killed. Her legs wei
10 terribly cut and bruised, her back bad
N injured, and her face and arms were
se q frightful condition from burns. 81
II lay moaning upon lounge at Il
sr Spencer House, begging to be SCI
S. home. She is said to be Mary Connel
ct An UNKNOWN vTcTIN.
b. In front Of Dingen Bros, store lay
er dead man covered by q mattress. E
H. had black hair and . full face coyerG
X with blood and could not be recognize
re At first it was thought ne ~,
ii Superintendent MoTfofd, of q
4. Michigan Central railroad, but Mo
n ford was afterwards found.
o. Mark Osborne, day clerk and assia